While all four boys were doing full justice to the meal which Grant had
prepared, George and John related the story of their meeting with the
bear.
"And now," exclaimed John when he had finished, "you tell us what you
have to say. Fred said there was something."
"We had an idea while you were gone, that's all," said Grant.
"Tell us what it was."
"Go ahead, Fred."
"No, you tell them," urged Fred.
"Well," said Grant, "it was only this. Fred and I were talking things
over and we thought it might be good fun if we took the two canoes and
went off on a little trip for a couple of days. What do you think about
it?"
"I think it would be great," exclaimed John heartily. "How about you,
Pop?"
"It suits me first rate," said George eagerly. "Why can't we start
to-night?"
"That's a little soon I should think," laughed Grant. "We can go
to-morrow though if you say so."
"We can get some good trout fishing up these streams, you know," said
Fred. "I want to get that big trout."
"If there's any big trout caught I expect to be the one to do it," said
George very pompously.
"Huh," snorted Fred disgustedly, "you couldn't catch cold."
"You just wait and see," muttered George under his breath.
"Do you know anything about trout fishing?" insisted Fred.
"I never did any in my life."
"And you expect to catch a big trout?" said Fred derisively. "Why, Pop,
you're sort of out of your head, aren't you?"
"Wait and see," repeated George confidently.
"Do you know how hard it is to cast a trout fly when you're standing in
the middle of a clump of bushes and the branches of trees are in your
way all around you?" continued Fred. "Don't you know that it takes
almost years of practice to do it so that you are accurate and don't
catch your hook on everything in sight?"
"Wait and see," insisted George. "I have a new system."
"Ha! ha! ha!" laughed Fred. "You're a joke."
"Let's go back to camp and stop these two arguing," exclaimed Grant.
"They're at it all day long."
"We like each other all the more because we do it, don't we, Pop?"
demanded Fred laughingly.
"Yes," admitted George, "except that you're awfully conceited at times."
"Come on," urged Grant. "They'll be at it again if we're not careful."
Before many moments had passed the Balsam was once more sailing over the
clear waters of the lake and in a short time the four boys arrived back
at camp. The remainder of the day was spent in planning for the trip
they were about to take and in discussing just where they should go. At
length an agreement satisfactory to every one was reached, the
arrangements were all completed and there was nothing left to do but
wait for the morrow in order to start.
The sun had been up but a short time before the camp was astir. Grant
set about preparing breakfast while his three companions packed supplies
into the two canoes. Food sufficient for three days was loaded on board;
blankets were taken along, and trout rods with numerous flies of course
were included.
"Breakfast's ready," announced Grant as soon as the work of loading was
complete.
"So am I," exclaimed George heartily. "I'm always ready to eat up here."
"Not only 'up here' either," muttered Fred.
"What did you say?" demanded George, wheeling around so as to face the
speaker.
"Nothing."
"As usual," laughed George. "Where's the food?"
"Right here," exclaimed Grant. "Let's see you get rid of it."
No second invitation was needed and it was not long before every crumb
and morsel that Grant had prepared had disappeared.
"Let's get started," exclaimed George. "All the food is gone so there is
no point in staying around here any longer."
"You're right, Pop," laughed John. "I say we go too."
A few moments later the two canoes emerged from the little harbor and
started out across the lake, headed northward. Grant and Fred occupied
one of them while George and John paddled the other.
"I'm glad you're not in my canoe, Fred," called George gayly. "Small as
you are, I'd soon get tired of paddling you around all day."
"Is that so?" snorted Fred. "Well, you're not half as glad as I am for I
know that I'd be the one that would have to do all the work and you're
too big and fat to make the work pleasant."
"They're at it again, String," laughed Grant. "What shall we do with
them?"
"Leave them home," suggested John.
"Oh, we couldn't do that. They'd be like the Kilkenny cats."
"Who were they?" demanded Fred.
"Didn't you ever hear about them?"
"No. Tell me who they were."
"I guess you mean _what_ they were."
"All right, what they were, then."
"Why," said Grant, "they were a couple of cats that loved to fight. One
day somebody tied their tails together and hung them over a clothes
line. Of course they began to fight right away and they fought so
furiously that when it was all over there wasn't a thing left of either
of them."
"I suppose you expect me to believe that story," snorted Fred.
"I don't care whether you believe it or not," laughed Grant. "You wanted
to hear it, so I told it to you."
"Grant says we're like a couple of cats, Pop," called Fred.
"Tell him he'd better be careful," replied George. "Just because we call
each other names doesn't mean that we allow other people to do it."
"Excuse me for interrupting," said John laughingly, "but does any one
know where we are going?"
"I do," replied Grant. "We're going up that river you see straight
ahead."
"Do you know where that leads to?" inquired Fred.
"Yes. We can paddle up it for about two miles and then we have to make a
carry over to another river."
"How long is the carry?" demanded George.
"Oh, about half a mile, I guess."
"Whew!" exclaimed George; "that's a long distance to carry canoes and
all the stuff we have in them."
"Getting ready to shirk already, are you?" demanded Fred teasingly.
"Shirk nothing," said George. "Wait and see if I don't do my share."
"Yes and 'wait and see' if you don't catch the biggest trout too,"
taunted Fred. "Why, Pop, you'll be lucky if you catch your breath."
"Wait and see," muttered George darkly.
"Yes, 'wait and see'," echoed Fred. "If you don't stop saying that we'll
have to call you, 'Wait and See.'"
Just at this moment, however, they came to the mouth of the river and
the argument was abandoned, for the time being at least.
"This is great!" exclaimed John. "I always did like paddling in a narrow
space rather than on a lake or some place like that."
"I do too," agreed Grant. "You feel closer to things somehow."
"You're no closer to the water, you know," remarked George with a wink
at Fred.
"Don't pay any attention to him, Grant," said John. "I think we ought to
throw both of them overboard anyway."
As they progressed, the stream became narrower and the current swifter.
Evidently they would be unable to paddle very much farther upstream and
the young campers began to keep a sharp lookout for the carry.
"There it is," exclaimed Fred, suddenly pointing to a small sandy beach
a short distance ahead of them.
They soon landed and emptying the canoes, they started off through the
woods to transfer them to the next river. It was necessary to leave the
baggage behind to await their coming back for it. Two boys to each canoe
they set out, the light boats turned upside down and bearing them aloft
on their shoulders. In spite of many groanings from George they reached
their destination before much time had elapsed, and then resting the
canoes on the bank of the stream they returned for the baggage. This was
more quickly and more easily transferred so that a short time later they
were once more making their way by paddling.
"Say, Grant," exclaimed John when they had covered a few hundred yards,
"how do you know all about these rivers?"
"Didn't you see that map I have?"
"No. I kept wondering how you knew so much about the country around
here. I didn't know you had a map."
"Of course I have. I wouldn't know anything any other way for I've never
been up here in my life before."
"String thought you guessed at it," laughed George.
"No, I didn't at all," protested John. "I just didn't think about it."
"Does your map say that there are rapids ahead?" asked Fred.
"I didn't notice. Why?"
"Because I think there are. It seems to me that the current is getting
swifter all the time and I think you'll find that when we go around that
bend up yonder you'll find rapids ahead of us."
"Shall we run them?" demanded George excitedly.
"We'll probably be wrecked if we try it," said Grant.
"We can see how bad they are, anyway," John suggested.
"Yes," agreed Fred. "We'll 'wait and see.'"
"'Go ahead' is my motto when rapids are concerned," said George.
Rounding the curve in the river they discovered that scarcely a hundred
yards farther was another bend in the stream. Meanwhile the current was
rapidly becoming swifter and stronger.
"We can't see yet," exclaimed George. "We'll have to go ahead."
All four boys were excited now, and there was an eager light in every
one's eyes as they were carried along by the swiftly-flowing stream.
Suddenly they came around the second bend, and spread out before their
eyes appeared a long stretch of white water. It foamed and danced, here
and there broken by a huge rock, black and ugly looking.
"We can't run those," cried Grant. "We'll drown sure."
"Go ashore then," shouted Fred, and he drove his paddle desperately into
the water. John and George also fought valiantly to divert their course
and avoid the rapids. Too late, however, for the current was stronger
than they, and with ever increasing speed they were drawn swiftly
towards the foaming waters below.